NC12 reopens on north end of Ocracoke, state of emergency lifted nearly week after Erin

Along the North Carolina coast, conditions are worsening by the hour, waves are more aggressive, and breaching dunes that the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is creating to preserve NC 12.

While many property owners decided to evacuate, ABC11 found one who did not. We caught up with 84-year-old Carroll Midgett, who was checking on oceanfront houses in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island, where evacuation orders were issued earlier this week.

Midgett also revealed that he chose not to evacuate.

ABC11's Jamiese Price asked Midget if he was planning to evacuate.

"You're staying put. You're not leaving?"

"No," he responded.

Midgett, 84 years young, is doing his best to prepare for the impacts of Hurricane Erin.

"I put my car on the hill."

NCDOT warns that the worst is yet to come from the storm, even as the monster storm remains in the ocean.

"Erin has not shown us her teeth yet. That will be tonight, tomorrow, and possibly into Friday. So people should not let their guard down at this point because the worst is yet to come," Tim Hass with NCDOT said.

SEE ALSO | Gov. Stein urges NC residents to take 'this storm seriously'

Wrightsville Beach town officials told ABC11 that they're waiting to see how the storm surge and strong winds could affect Wednesday evening's high tide.

"We're an island, we're surrounded by water," Wrightsville Beach Communications Manager Bailey Hartsell said. "There's nowhere for it to go. But once the tides do kind of rescind, and the water starts to evaporate, and will kind of seep into the ocean or the intercoastal, we can go out and check and see how everything is going."

Read more here.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) says that all lanes of NC12 are closed until further notice, from the north end of Ocracoke Island between the Ocracoke Island Airport and the North Ferry Terminal.

Overwash and sand on the road have made it unsafe.

NC 12 will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, NCDOT said in a social media post.

Crews have been busy in the area putting up protective dunes.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein gave an update on how the state is preparing for Hurricane Erin as it moves to the north.

Currituck, Hyde, and Dare counties are under evacuation orders.

In preparation, the state has deployed 3 swift water rescue teams positioned on the coast to respond if needed.

200 National Guard troops have been deployed with high clearance vehicles to navigate through any flood waters.

Read more here